VIDEO: A flotilla fit for a Queen

Posted on 07 June 2012

More than a million revelers lined the banks of England’s River Thames last Sunday to witness the largest boat parade ever. The pageant was part of the four-day Diamond Jubilee celebration in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s 60 years on the throne.

The queen boarded the “royal barge” — the 211-foot luxury tour boat Spirit of Chartwell adorned with 10,000 flowers — to watch the flotilla pass at about 4 knots.

Click play to watch the royal family shove off.

The 1,000-boat fleet was a hodgepodge of vessels — gondolas, dragon boats, kayaks, historic and modern boats, pleasure and commercial craft — that paraded seven miles between Battersea Park and the Tower Bridge.

On Monday, the queen hosted an outdoor concert beside Buckingham Palace with performances by Paul McCartney and Elton John. Jubilee events culminated Tuesday with an appearance by the queen on the Buckingham Palace balcony and a flyover by World War II aircraft and the Red Arrows, the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force.